Vietnam property prices set to increase

Hanoi (VNA) - Property prices are expected to increase by five to 10 percent in the year of 2016, especially hot projects that have good infrastructure and ensure construction progress.

The Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA) forecast the estate market would continue to develop, with the middle-income housing segment to be the majority segment. The villa segment is expected to see positive changes in the market as most Vietnamese homebuyers prefer independent houses rather than apartments. The prices of offices for lease will also be four to nine percent higher than that of 2015.

However, VNREA said the property market this year would face the challenge of bad debts as most investors have to borrow loans with interest rates of more than 10 percent a year, while the market has not been provided support from the 30-trillion- VND (1.34 billion USD) stimulus package.

The number of transactions in the market in 2015 were double that of 2014. The estate inventory value fell to 50 trillion VND (2.22 billion USD), while property credit rose by 20 percent to touch more than 373 trillion VND (16.58 billion USD).-VNA